


The Technical Advisor

by SailorStyx



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Multi, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-18 08:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16114847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorStyx/pseuds/SailorStyx
Summary: Makoto asks Ami to find someone to help her business on the technical side of things. Unfortunately she gets more than she bargained for when the person Ami brings in doesn't mesh with her personality very well. Lucky for her, her new boyfriend loves everyone. But is there something more going on between Ami and Makoto's advisor? And why do the latter and her bf act like they know each other? And why is Mamoru acting so funny?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Be warned, the timeline is kinda wonky. The fifth arc didn't happen, but things that are introduced in it are still canon (i.e the Galaxy Cauldron and extrasolar senshi/guardians). Also damn this chapter is short. I had hoped it'd be longer but oh well.

“Hi, Ami,” Makoto cheerfully greeted as she heard the tinkling of the bell above the door that signaled when someone came in. 

“Mako, you didn’t even look at who came in. You just blurted out a name,” Ami sighed. 

Makoto looked at the clock. “It’s 3:00 pm. Exactly the time you said you’d be here. Who else would it be, really? This isn’t a busy time of day for me and there’s no customers right now.” Makoto turned back to the boxes she was organizing below the counter, which is what she had been doing when Ami walked in. 

Ami sighed again. Makoto still hadn’t looked at her, for if she had, she would’ve realized that Ami wasn’t alone. And Ami had specifically brought the newcomer to Mako’s shop on Mako’s request. She looked at the guest and smiled apologetically. Mako, she thought. You’re not making a good first impression. 

Makoto obliviously continued her task. Ami let her go on for about 30 more seconds and when she realized she needed a hint to stop, she loudly cleared her throat. This immediately got Makoto’s attention since Ami hardly ever cleared her throat. In fact, Ami hardly did anything to get anyone’s attention. Even though she was now in college, she still hadn’t completely come out of her shell. If someone talked over her, she let them and never interrupted someone herself. It was also suspicious that Ami had just stood there in silence while she worked instead of starting up a conversation like she usually does. Even though Ami often let the girls talk over her and was still shy around strangers, she was comfortable enough with her friends to start conversations. Something must be wrong for Ami to act this way. Makoto bolted upright and was going to ask what was wrong when she noticed the person standing next to Ami. 

“Oh, hello,” she greeted the customer and bowed, despite the fact that the person appeared to be foreign and the chance of them bowing back or even caring that she bowed at all was slim. She had never seen this person before and was unsure of their gender, but they checked three big boxes for foreigner: tall, blonde, and large-nosed. The person was taller than Makoto, as she had often found foreigners to be (it was one reason why she often went out of her way to attract them to her business. They made her feel small and dainty). The shade of blonde was also very light, lighter than what most foreigners had and when Makoto had encountered it, it was almost always on women. The hair appeared to be wavy and was pulled back into a ponytail like Makoto’s (another check for the “female” box), except it rested against the person’s back instead of being high on the head. The figure was slender. Red glasses framed a delicate face with a large nose (from a Japanese perspective) and piercing green eyes. Oh, those green eyes. Makoto was glad she had saved them for last because they froze her where she stood. She was too scared to even speak. The person didn’t say anything either, so it was up to Ami to break the silence. 

“Uh, Mako, this is the computer guy you wanted.” 

To Makoto’s surprise, the foreigner actually bowed. “Nice to meet you.” The voice was as cold as the eyes and definitely male, so Makoto guessed she had her answer as to what the gender of the person was. 

On the other hand, she didn’t know what else she expected. From the way Ami talked, her college computer club was mostly guys. The only female she had mentioned was named Kurokawa and while she did have glasses, they weren’t the same type worn by this gentleman. She also didn’t say anything about Kurokawa being part foreign. Though come to think of it, Ami hadn’t said anything about anyone in her computer club being foreign, so Makoto was quite interested in why Ami had neglected to speak of that detail. 

“Let’s eat while we talk. Why don’t you two take a seat and I’ll get the snacks.” Makoto tried to sound chipper, but she was still shaken by the foreigner’s eyes and was starting to rethink asking Ami for this favor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that this story takes place in 2001, but Crystal Tokyo has not happened (yet). Also this chapter is at least twice the length of the previous one and I hope the ending conversation doesn't come off as awkward or forced.

Yep. Makoto definitely regretted asking Ami if she could find somebody to help her make her business more tech-savvy. The guy she found was kind of rude and cold and Makoto wasn’t sure if she’d ever get used to those eyes. Bizarrely, Ami had no problem looking him straight in the eye. Makoto wondered if it had something to do with having ice powers. 

His name was Sigmund Schwarzwasser and he was definitely a foreigner. Makoto wasn’t sure if the rudeness was a cultural difference or if that was just the way he was. It was hard to tell since Ami had no problem talking with him, but, if this guy was in her computer club, then she had known him for about two months, so she had had time to adjust to his personality if it was inherently rude.

She started to think that his first words to her were just a formality, since he followed them up with criticism. The conversation started off bad and ended bad.

“You’re not very observant,” was his next sentence to her. He then proceeded to get completely off topic and heavily implied Makoto was not smart or strong enough to protect her friends. That really pissed her off and the only reason she didn’t punch him right then and there was because Ami was present, who also desperately tried to play mediator, but he didn’t seem to get the hint, which Makoto found hypocritical. 

In the end, they didn’t end up discussing anything related to why Ami had brought him here. What a waste of time, Makoto thought as she went back to organizing the boxes filled with plastic utensils. Screw that guy. There’s no way I’m taking advice from him. I never want him back here again. I’ll just tell Ami to find someone else. 

In hindsight, Makoto was grateful that Ami had done this on one of her breaks from her classes (which was probably the reason it was so sudden in the first place. Ami’s definitely not the type to show up unannounced, especially with a guest). It limited the amount of time Sigmund could stay and insult her. He didn’t even have any of the tea or cookies she had brought out! When she offered, he just stared at them and said, “No, thank you. I’m not hungry.” Shockingly, Makoto was insulted by this most of all. 

I’ve put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into making my dream of owning a bakery and flower shop come true Makoto thought. It’s very rude to not have any food at a restaurant, especially if it’s free and you’re here to perform a service. He did know he was coming to a bakery, right? He looks as if he could put on some weight and bulk up anyway.

While she was grateful his time here had been mercifully short, it left her in a bad mood. She couldn’t concentrate on taking inventory, so she went to the back room to make a call. On the way she passed some plants that she didn’t have room for in the adjacent flower shop. He had even insulted her precious plants. She gently caressed the leaves of a plant she had named Nana and said, “I’m so sorry that rude man thought you not necessary and a waste of space. Mommy’s not letting him back here ever again. If I had known he wasn’t going to like you, I never would’ve let him step foot in here.” 

She continued to the back room where the phone, computer, and more plants were. The fact that Sigmund hadn’t even made it past the counter, much less to where the computer was, showed how little progress had been made in their conversation earlier. She picked up the phone, dialed a number, and waited. It took four rings, but the person on the other line picked up. 

“Mm, yello,” came the male voice on the other end. 

The sound of her boyfriend’s voice already calmed Mako down considerably. “Hi, Jacinto, I was just wondering if you had time to stop by the shop tomorrow. I know you’re busy with college, but, oh I miss you.” 

“I miss you, too, babe. It sucks not having the free time to see you more often and go on dates and stuff, but I’m on a scholarship and if my GPA doesn’t stay above a certain point, I’ll lose it and if that happens, I’ll be going back to America. My family doesn’t have the money to keep sending me here. And my Japanese tutoring sessions aren’t fun, but I need them to be able to keep up with the lessons, otherwise I’ll fall behind and, well . . .”

“Yeah, and you’ll lose your scholarship and go back to America,” Makoto finished. “It’s great that one of your roommates is your Japanese tutor though. That’s really convenient and adds some much needed flexibility to your schedule. You can study Japanese at any time of the day!” 

Makoto couldn’t see it, but Jacinto cringed. “It may sound great on paper, but in practice, it’s kind of a nightmare. /Both/ of my roommates are kind of my tutors and they drive me crazy. One only wants to teach during dinner and the other only wants to teach at crazy hours of the day to simulate ‘the uncertainty and surprise of real life Japanese’, which means he often pops up and scares me by shouting Japanese phrases at me in his German accent. I’m so glad I’m not taking German lessons from him.”

Makoto giggled. 

“It isn’t funny!” Jacinto protested. “He mostly does it when I’m sleeping or when I’m getting ready for bed. Or when I’m getting ready to go to my morning classes. Don’t know how many tubes of toothpaste I’ve gone through because of him. Once he did it when I was about to put pancakes on my plate and I dropped them on the floor. I ended up making toast and running to class with it in my mouth like some anime character. He’s lucky I made it to class on time.” 

Makoto giggled again and was about to say something when he interrupted. “Oh, is that the time? Sorry babe, but I have an afternoon class in like five minutes.” She could hear rustling and then shouting on the other side. “IZUMO! I told you to watch the time! Bye Mako. See ya tomorrow.” A click and he was gone. 

Makoto sighed. She was hoping she could talk to him a little bit longer, but she knew he had a hectic schedule. She loved having a boyfriend, especially one as attentive as Jacinto, but it was just her luck that he wouldn’t have time for her. 

She was fortunate that this time he was home when she called and he picked up. The past two times she had tried calling him his roommate Izumo picked up and said he wasn’t there and he wasn’t sure when he’d be back. Jacinto tried to stop by the shop at least three times a week, but lately he wasn’t showing up at all. And since he didn’t have a cellphone, Mako had no other way to get in touch with him. The lack of contact was making her worry. She didn’t know what she’d do if Jacinto got hurt and she wasn’t there to protect him. 

*********

Ami and Sigmund were walking from Mako’s shop back to the university they both attended when Ami started to speak. 

 

But she was interrupted by Sigmund. “I’m sorry it didn’t go as well as you had wanted. Our personalities are just too different.” His tone was soft and morose, very unlike the way he had spoken to Makoto, cold and taciturn. 

“Oh, I was expecting as much. It’s why I held off introducing you to each other for so long. I could see that you two wouldn’t mesh very well together. Mako’s bubbly and cheerful and I know you loathe those kinds of people.” 

“You forgot silly, airheaded, and lovestruck,” Sigmund huffed. 

If you thought Mako was airheaded, Ami thought. I’d hate to see what you think of Mina and Usagi. “But based on how you describe your roommate, he and Mako have a lot in common,” she joked. 

Sigmund looked like he was about to have a heart attack. “He’s nothing like Makoto!” he angrily protested. “Sure he’s goofy, but he has a good head on his shoulders. He knows when to be serious and not screw around. And there’s no way he’d ignore a customer who walked into his shop, especially not when there’s a real chance he could be robbed. And there’s no way he’d ignore someone he cares about, especially if they’re in danger.” 

“Let’s give it a few days and then I can reintroduce you. Mako only wants to set up a website and have an antivirus program installed. It should be quick and easy.” Ami changed the subject because she knew Sigmund wouldn’t. He was obviously hung up on Makoto’s behavior for reasons unknown to her. 

“As long as she’s not as oblivious as she was today, I think I can manage it. But something tells me she’ll fly into a rage when she sees me again. People like her are very predictable. I can’t teach someone if they’re blinded by emotions. Assuming she’ll even be able to comprehend what I’m telling her.” 

“Siggi,” Ami said softly. “If you really don’t want to go back, I’m not going to force you. You just have to tell me. You know you can. I won’t get upset. In fact, you weren’t my first choice for the job. But all the other guys were either terrified of her or wanted to hit on her and Mako needs neither in her life right now.” 

“I accepted your offer because I knew you were having trouble finding someone. I know it would mean a lot to you if I helped out your friend.” 

Ami blushed, but she didn’t know why, which just made her feel silly. She hoped Sigmund wouldn’t notice (but he did). “Thank you, Sigmund. I’ll call her tomorrow and see if I can smooth things over.” 

They continued walking to the train station that would take them back to the University of Tokyo in silence.


End file.
